Insect pest monitor and product transfer station

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and kit for monitoring, capturing, or killing crawling insects, including the population of a colony of insects, is provided. A station is provided including a lower member that may be flat, curved or of varying contour, a curved or angled upper member connected directly or by one or more intermediate members to the lower member, and an adhesive on one of the lower member or the upper member. A secondary element can include a repellant or non-repellant pesticide, an adhesive, and/or an attractant to aid in killing the crawling insects. As the insects interact with the station and secondary element, they can take a portion of the pesticide back to the colony to kill more insects.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is Continuation Application of U.S. Ser. No.15/005,642, filed on Jan. 25, 2016, which is a Continuation-In-Partapplication of U.S. Ser. No. 14/626,254, filed Feb. 19, 2015, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,123,522, issued on Nov. 13, 2018, the contents of all arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a crawling insect pest monitorand/or product transfer station and more particularly to a device foruse on the exterior or interior of a structure for attracting andkilling crawling insect pests entering the station. The crawling peststation is designed to monitor for pest activity in the zone ofinfluence and to expose visiting pests to slow-activating pesticidetreatments that result in a transfer of pesticide product back to areasthat harbor such crawling insect pests, which will also aid in killingoff a colony of insects. The crawling pest station is designed toprotect pesticides and tacky surfaces so as to maximize their effectivelife-span.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Crawling pests, such as the German cockroach (Blattella germanica) arewell known to carry disease and are widely considered to be undesirableinsects. The German cockroach is a smaller member of the cockroachfamily and is frequently a pest in food processing and preparation areasincluding hotels, nursing homes, hotels and other institutions. They arewidespread pests capable of surviving in many different parts of theworld. They are a type of thigmotactic insect, meaning that theygenerally react to a physical stimulus, and here prefer tight spaces.Such insects frequently hide out of sight in cracks and crevices thatare easy for humans to overlook. Such insects also reproduce rapidly andthus are susceptible to treatments that are slow acting and can betransferred between pests.

Numerous designs of crawling insect pest stations are commerciallyavailable, some use large containment areas, while others use wide open,flat surfaces with various forms of attractants and capture mechanisms,such as glue boards. Problems exist with such devices. For example,cockroaches have been observed to contact the edges of glue boards andescape. It was discovered that when such glue boards were rolled intocylinders, cockroaches would fill the underside of the glue roll.Similarly, a flat glue board was placed with its glue side or stickyside down and another flat glue board was placed with its sticky sideup. It was found that the entire surface of the glue side down board wasfilled while only the edges of the sticky side up board were filled.Thus, it is desirable to provide a crawling insect monitor that isdirected to crawling insets who desire small, narrow, or covered spaces.

Many of the currently available crawling insect pest stations also leavethe glue surface or the pesticide surface exposed to environmentalconditions such as light, water and physical objects that could impacteffectiveness. This also leaves potentially hazardous substancestypically found in glues and pesticides exposed to potential humancontact. This also exposes the pesticides and glues to other physicalcontacts that may erode their presence and thus minimize theireffectiveness. It is therefore also desirable to provide an attractionstation having features that are effective at concealing and protectingthe attracting, trapping, and killing areas of the station.

It is further desirable to provide an attraction station that maximizesthe effectiveness of pesticides and allows for safe monitoring andkilling of crawling insects and insect colonies while providing a dualaction treatment that either captures the crawling insect or exposes theinsect to pesticide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention is a crawling pest monitor and aproduct transfer station designed to hold and protect a pest attractant,a pest trapping mechanism and a pesticide. The crawling pest station isdesigned to monitor for pest activity in the zone of influence andexpose visiting pests to slow-acting pesticide treatments that result ina transfer of pesticide product back to harborage areas.

A domed container having a base member which may be flat, curved or ofvarying contour, a curved or angled upper member connected directly orby one or more intermediate members to the base member, a tacky surfaceon one of the base member or the upper member, the tacky surface eitherbeing a tacky substance applied directly to the base member's uppersurface/upper member's lower surface or to another piece of materialthat this secured to the base member or upper member, a pesticide whichis placed opposite the tacky surface on the interior of the station,such as being either applied directly to the curved upper member's lowersurface or removably secured to the upper member's lower surface, and anattractant placed in between the upper member and the base member.

In another embodiment, the invention is a wall-mounted attractionstation for killing crawling insects. The station includes at least onemember mounted to a wall, preferably removably mounted to the wall. Thismay be accomplished with a station that includes a base member that issecured to the wall by screws, tape, glue or other means. Alternatively,the base member may releasably connect to a second base member which issecured to the wall. For example, the station's base member may slideinto the second base member so as to allow the station to be monitoredeasily, cleaned, replaced or refreshed as necessary.

It is further included to provide an attraction station that protects asensing device that senses the presence of crawling insects thatinteract with the attraction station or that crawl in the vicinity ofthe attraction station. The attraction station can serve as a physicalfilter to reduce false positive signals from the sensing device andmaximize signals related to crawling pest activity in the vicinity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insect monitoring station accordingto aspects of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the insect monitoring station of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the insect monitoring station of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the insect monitoring station in apartially open configuration.

FIG. 5 is perspective view of bottom member of the insect monitoringstation according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a top member of the insect monitoringstation according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the top member of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a base member of the insect monitoringstation according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of an insectmonitoring station according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a graph indicating the number of insects caught during thefirst 60 interactions.

FIG. 11 is a graph indicating the mortality of insects after 1 week ofexposure to the invention as compared to other commercially availableproducts.

FIG. 12 is a graph indicating the morality of insects after 1 week ofexposure to the components of the invention.

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numeralsrepresent like parts throughout the several views. Reference to variousembodiments does not limit the scope of the invention. Figuresrepresented herein are not limitations to the various embodimentsaccording to the invention and are presented for exemplary illustrationof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The figures show exemplary features and concepts of the invention byillustration. The intent of the preferred embodiments of the inventionis to provide features that both attract and kill crawling insects onthe interior of a structure in a shortened or finite window of time,while also exposing insects to an agent that can be taken back to acolony to reduce and/or eliminate a population of insects making up thecolony. The window of time being measured generally from when thecrawling insect enters an area, such as the interior or exterior area ofthe structure, and until the crawling insect is attracted to and killedby the attraction station. The stations can be used to monitor an areato determine if the area has an insect infestation that needs to beaddressed with additional methods. Furthermore, a killing agent can beintroduced at the station that can kill the insects at the station andalso be taken back to the colony by an insect to reduce and/or eliminatethe population of the colony.

Exemplary features and aspects of the present invention for monitoring,attracting, and killing crawling insects, such as cockroaches, beetles,etc., within a shortened window of time are illustrated in FIGS. 1-9.For example, FIGS. 1-4 show various views of an insect monitoringstation 10 according to aspects of the invention. The monitoring station10 includes a lower housing 12 and an upper housing 30 that are inrotatably communication with one another. As shown in the figures, thismay be accomplished by each of the housing members 12, 30 having hingecomponents 24, 40, which, when connected together, allows the housingmembers to be rotated in relation to one another. This is best shownwith FIGS. 1 and 4. In FIG. 1, the top member 30 is rotated to a closedposition where it is in contact or near contact with the lower housingmember 12. However, in FIG. 4, the top housing member 30 has beenrotated via the hinge to allow access to an interior between the lowerand upper members 12, 30.

It should be appreciated that, although the monitoring station 10 isshown to have two housing members each having hinge components 24, 40that are snapped together to form the hinge, it is contemplated thatother configurations allow the members to rotate relative to oneanother. For example, having portions with an axle, rod, or other memberextending therethrough on each of the housing members would allow themembers to rotate relative to one another as well. As will beunderstood, the rotating of the housing members allows access to aninterior of the station 10 to monitor, modify, clean, replace, orotherwise manipulate the station 10, as needed.

The lower housing member 12 is shown throughout the figures, and isisolated in FIG. 5. The lower housing member 12 includes a lower surface14 and an upper surface 18. The lower surface 14 includes asubstantially planar portion 16 and a curved or domed portion 15. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2, the planar portions 16 are positionedgenerally at each end of the curved or domed portion 15. The planarportions are not necessary in all embodiments.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the height of the peak of thecurved portion 15 of the lower surface 14 has a height 28, which can bedefined as the distance between the peak and the planar portions 16, orthe peak and the surface to which the insect station is located. It ispreferred in some embodiments that the height 28 of the peak of thecurved portion 15 be from about ⅛ inches to about ½ inches. Morepreferably, the height 28 of the peak of the curved portion 15 is about¼ inches. This height has been determined to be most effective forcapturing insects traveling underneath, as will be explained. The widthof the curved portion 15 can vary, and is not to be limiting to theinvention.

The upper surface 18 of the lower housing member 12 also includes acurved portion 19, which runs substantially parallel with the lowersurface 14. This also includes the substantially planar portions.

Other aspects of the lower housing member 12 include a cutout 20 throughthe upper and lower surfaces of the lower housing member 12, which caninclude a recessed section 22 generally outlining the cutout 20 andextending only partially through the surfaces. As will be understood, anadhesive 39 can be positioned at the cutout 20 and relative to the lowerhousing member 12 such that is exposed through the cutout towards thelower surface 14. The adhesive 39, in some embodiments, could be a glueboard or other structure with a tacky surface that can be positioned atthe cutout 20. For example, it is contemplated that the adhesive 39could be a glue board that is sized to fit within the recessed portionso that the ledge of the recessed portion 22 contacts a portion of thetacky surface to hold the adhesive 39 in place at the cutout 20. Insectsthat walk under the domed lower housing member 12 can contact theadhesive, such as by their wings contacting the tacky substance exposedthrough the cutout 20, and can become stuck thereat to trap the insect.Furthermore, to attract more insects into walking under the domed lowerhousing, an attractant may be added to the lower surface 14 of the lowerhousing 12 to lure the insect toward the adhesive 39 exposed at thecutout.

It should further be appreciated that, when only one housing isincluded, the cutout need not be included, and instead, the adhesive canbe positioned directly on the underside of the domed/curved portion 15of the lower surface 14. However, having the cutout 20 and the upperhousing 30 will allow for easier access to the adhesive 39 such that itcan be removed, examined, and/or replaced.

Extending from the lower housing member 12 at a side generally oppositethe hinge 24 is a plurality of tabs 26. The tabs 26 are spaced apart andare configured to be inserted into a base member 50 to connect the lowerhousing member 12 thereto, which can temporarily connect the lowerhousing member 12 to the base member 50. This connection, along with theupper housing member 30, will allow the station 10 to be positioned ongenerally any surface and at generally any orientation. Therefore, theinsect station 10 is not limited in its ability to be used on or aroundany surface for trapping insects to monitor the level of insectinfestation at a particular location.

As mentioned, the insect station 10 shown in the figures also includesan upper housing member 30 rotatably attached to the lower housingmember 12. The upper housing member 30 includes a lower surface 32 andan upper surface 36 as well. The lower surface 32 may include portionsthat are substantially parallel to the lower housing 12, such as havingone or more substantially planar portions 34 and a curved portion 33.The curved portion 33 may generally match the curve of the upper andlower surfaces of the lower housing member 12. This is also the case forthe upper surface 36, which can include a similar curved portion 37. Inaddition, the upper housing member 30 includes a hinge portion 40 forcommunicating and/or interacting with the hinge portion 24 of the lowerhousing member 12 in order to allow the upper housing 30 to rotaterelative to the lower housing. For example, in the figures, the hingeportion 40 of the upper member 30 is shown to have a plurality of rod oraxle like members spaced by spacers. The hinged portion 24 of the lowermember 12 is shown to have snap or clasping features that are able tosnap onto the rods and to be held thereat to allow the rotation tooccur.

The underside of the upper member 30 is shown in FIG. 7. As shown, thelower surface 32 can include a boundary section 38 that can be formed byan extruded wall extending away from the lower surface 32. In FIG. 7,this boundary 38 is shown to be positioned generally on the curvedportion 33 of the lower surface 32. The boundary 38 can be included as asection to position the adhesive 39, such as the glue board with thetacky surface. Still other types of adhesive materials may be used, suchas, but not limited to, sprays, gels, liquids, glues, solids, and thelike. The boundary 38 can provide guidance for orienting the adhesivematerial such that the adhesive will be substantially aligned with thecutout 20 of the lower housing member 12, which will aid in catchingmore insects as they pass under and/or through the station. It should beappreciated, however, that the boundary 38 need not be included in allembodiments, and that the adhesive could be included in the recessedportion 22 of the lower housing member 12, as has been previouslydisclosed.

Additional aspects of the upper housing include tabs 42 that areinserted into the base member 50, as well as a central tab or snapmember 44. The outer tabs 42 are substantially spaced and aligned withthe lower tabs 26 of the lower housing member 12, as is shown in FIG. 3.This allows the pair of tabs 26, 42 to be insertable into the slots 52of the base member 50, and can aid in the positioning and orientation ofthe insect monitoring station 10.

Furthermore, the upper housing member 30 can include a central tab 44,which may also be known as a snap member. The central tab includes aprotruding portion 46, which is to interact with a cutout 56 in the basebody 51, which will removably secure the lower and upper housing member12, 30 to the base 50. The snap member 44 can be activated by a button48 of the upper housing 30. The button 48, when depressed, will pressthe central tab 44 as well. Lowering the tab 44 enough will allow theprotruding portion 46 to become disengaged from the base cutout 56,which will allow the lower and upper housing members 12, 30 to bereleased from the base 50. To re-attach the components, the tabs of thehousing members are aligned with the slots of the base 50 and thehousing members are inserted until the protruding portion 46 of thecentral tab 44 is repositioned in the base cutout 56. As the central tab44 is generally resilient, this will hold the housing members in placerelative to the base, such that the monitoring station 10 can bepositioned in generally any orientation and at generally any location.

The base 50 is shown in isolation in FIG. 8. As mentioned, the base 50includes a base body 51. Tab slots 52 are positioned through the body onopposite sides of the snap slot 54. The slots are configured to alignwith the tabs 26, 42, 44 of the housing members. The cutout 56 is alsoshown in FIG. 8, and is positioned to receive the protruding member 48of the central tab 44, which aids in holding the components of themonitoring station together.

Also shown in FIG. 8 extending from the ends of the base 50 are securingtabs 58. The securing tabs or flanges 58 are shown to be curved members,but may take generally any shape or form. Furthermore, the securing tabs58 are shown to include apertures thereto. The base 50 can be positionedat generally any location to determine if insects are present. Forexample, the base 50, and thus, the insect station 10, can simply be puton a ground surface, such as the floor, without securing the station 10in place. However, if the station 10 is to be secured in position, thetabs 58 or other securing means can be utilized. This can be especiallyhelpful when the surface attaching the station to is a ceiling, verticalwall, or other non-horizontal surface. The base 50 can be secured to thesurface in a number of ways. For example, in the configuration shown inFIGS. 1-8, the tabs 58 can be used with screws, bolts, hooks, rods,pins, or other connecting or surface penetrating members to extendthrough the tabs and into the surface. The connection members would holdthe base 50 and any connecting housing members in place independent ofthe orientation thereof. However, this is not to be the only way tosecure the station 10 to a surface. For example, adhesives could also beadded to the base to removably secure the base 50 to a surface at anyorientation. A recess, such as a groove, can be formed into theunderside of the base 50 (opposite the snap cutout 56) to receive andhouse and adhesive, when used. The adhesive could also be placed at theunderside of the tabs 58 for removably securing the base to a surface.In any manner, it is to be appreciated that the base 50 andcorresponding insect station could be secured to a surface at generallyany orientation, configuration, or the like.

The base 50 can take generally any shape as well. For example, FIG. 9shows a base 50 that is shaped different than the base of FIGS. 1-8.However, the base in FIG. 9 includes many of the same features as thosepreviously disclosed, which allows the base to be used with the housingmembers to form the insect station as has been disclosed and described.

Therefore, the insect station 10 as has been shown and describedprovides a hinged book style station, with an upper housing 30 and lowerhousing 12 hingeably connected to one another such that the housings canbe opened. An adhesive is positioned generally between the housings 12,30, with at least a portion of a tacky part of the adhesive 39 beingexposed to and through a lower surface 14 of the lower housing 12. Thehousings include a curved portion, with the curved portion 15 of thelower surface 14 of the lower housing 12 having a height 28 at the peakof the curve. The height is preferred to be from about ⅛ inches to about½ inches, and more preferably to be about ¼ inches. This height has beenshown to be most effective in catching an insect, such as the wings ofthe insect, to the adhesive for trapping the insect to the insectstation 10.

In use, an adhesive 39 is positioned in the hinged housing members, anda location is determined for determination of a number of insects in anarea. A base 50 may be removably secured at the selected location, suchas by screws, adhesives, pins, hooks, bolts, rods, or other connectingmembers to hold the base 50 in place. The housings with the adhesive areattached to the base 50 by aligning the tabs of the housings with theslots of the base 50. This may also include inserting at least oneresilient tab with a protruding member to become positioned in at leastone cutout of the base 50, wherein the tab and base interact to be heldin place.

A selected amount of time is allowed to lapse, and then the station 10checked to determine the number of insects caught by the station. Thenumber of insects attached to the adhesive can be an alert as to aninfestation or to determine if a more aggressive extermination isrequired to rid the area of the insects. Therefore, the insect station10 can be used as a monitoring device to alert a user if there is aninsect problem at the location of the station 10.

The insect station 10 is small enough to be generally non-noticeable inuse, but large enough that the adhesive is able to collect a number ofinsects to determine if there is an insect problem. The station 10 canalso be varied in size to monitor insects and bugs of different sizes.

Furthermore, additional means for attracting insects to the station canbe used, such as adding an attractant to the underside of the curvedportion or on the surface opposite the curved surface of the lowerhousing member. Pesticides could also be added on and around thecomponents of the insect station 10. The pesticides could be used tostick to the insects that may not adhere to the tacky surface of theadhesive. The insects would still take the pesticides with them andcould pass these on to other insects, thus eliminating a number ofinsects not caught by the station. Still further, additional tackysurfaces can be provided to attempt to capture a larger number of bugsand insects.

There are many cockroach control products sold, including bait, gel,granule, and aerosol spray formulations. Baits are formulated asgranules or solid blocks, gels, or liquids. Some bait products alreadyhave the active ingredient in the bait station, and others are packagedas a liquid that is poured into a bait container provided in thepackage. Gels typically come packaged with a syringe or a tube fordispensing. It is to be appreciated, that the use of varying types andingredients for the pesticides could be used in order to prevent thebuildup of a resistance to the pesticide. Therefore, according to atleast some aspects of the invention, it is recommended to rotate use ofa pesticide with the insect station when a pesticide is to be included.The present invention is not to be limited to particular pesticides,however, and it is to be appreciated that generally any type of approvedpesticide could be used in conjunction with the insect station.Furthermore, the pesticides could be included in, on, and/or around theportions of the insect station, such as a coating on a surface orgranules dispersed in the tacky surface of the adhesive.

The addition of a secondary element with the station as has beendescribed can provide for additional benefits. For example, while thestation will allow for monitoring and killing of insects, the additionof a secondary element, such as a glue board, attractant, pesticide, orsome combination positioned at or near the station can further providethe benefit of killing both the insects in contact with the elements, aswell as with controlling insect colony populations. A mat, coupon,board, or other secondary member can be positioned at or near a station,such as under the lower member of the housing. This secondary member canbe coated or otherwise incorporated with an attractant, glue, pesticide,dust, killing agent, or some combination thereof. For example, a killingagent could be utilized that attaches or is ingested by a crawlinginsect such that the insect is able to return to its colony before theeffects of the agent are fully felt. At this point, the agent can bepassed to the other members of the colony, which could in effect,eliminate an entire population of insects in an area.

The monitoring station can provide protection for the secondary memberor element. Further, while some examples of killing and/or controlagents have been disclosed, it is to be appreciated that this is not tobe an exhaustive list. For example, any pesticide or killing agent iscontemplated to be included or used with a monitoring station. Thisincludes, but is not limited to, repellant and non-repellant pesticides,dusts, aerosols, glues, and the like.

It is contemplated that a crawling insect can come in contact with thekilling agent when approaching the station. The station, as has beendisclosed, provides a covered area that shelters the insect from light,which makes it an attractive location. When the insect returns to itscolony, it can take back portions of the killing agent to spread toother insects in order to kill off other members of the colonypopulation.

Testing has shown that the combination of the insect station and akilling agent can greatly increase the mortality rate of a colony ofinsects. For example, in one such test, a colony was prepared in whichapproximately 100 cockroaches formed said colony. These consisted of 20adult males, 30 adult females, and 50 nymphs. It was found that the useof the insect station with a one-inch panel containing a glue, anattractant tablet, and a non-repellant pesticide killed 99% of thecolony within one week of introduction. Using only the attractant and anon-repellant pesticide killed 55% of the colony after one week, andjust the use of the pesticide resulted in 31% of the colony being killedwithin one week of introduction.

The components of the insect station can comprise a number of materials,such as rigid materials. For example, the components may comprise moldedpolymers that are attached to one another. The material used to form thehousing may be translucent to allow for visual inspection, if desired.While the station has been described as being made from a moldedplastic, it can also be formed from any structurally rigid material suchas steel, aluminum, cardstock, wood, or other material. In someembodiments, the housing members may comprise a one-piece molded objector printed object (e.g., 3D printed), wherein the finished productincludes the two housing members being rotatable to one another. Theopening ability of the housing members, and the removability of thehousing members from the base, allows for a simple design that can beinspected, maintained, and serviced with ease. This can includemonitoring of the adhesive, replacing the adhesive, and/or replenishingor refreshing the attractants and/or pesticides.

Additional modifications or alternatives to the insect station 10 asshown and described may be included. For example, the insect station 10can include a first panel or bottom member that is preferably generallyplanar and has a surface configuration to provide a surface which can betacky or contain a pesticide. The panel is preferably a flat panel, butmay also be curved, formed with angled panels, have a wavy surface orotherwise be formed as desired for the particular crawling insect.

The member can be connected to a top member, which may be one or both ofthe housings, either directly or through one or more intermediatemembers. For example, one or more side walls may be included thatconnect the bottom member to the top member(s). For example, the topmember may be connected to the bottom member by another hinge or beslideably connected so as to be easily replaceable. The top member canbe curved to include a rolled or domed structure. The space in betweenthe top member and the bottom member can forms an interior that has oneor more openings. The interior height between the housing members can besimilar to the height of the lower housing curved surface, as previouslydisclosed.

A pesticide can be applied to a lower surface of the top member.Alternatively, the pesticide may be applied to an upper surface of thebottom member. A tacky or sticky substance, such as an adhesive, can beadded opposite the pesticide on the interior of the station 10. In thismanner, the pesticide and the sticky substance are contained within theinterior, thus increasing their protection from water, light and otherpotential environmental contaminents. This also helps to minimize thepotential for human contact with potentially hazardous surfacetreatments and maximizes the life of the pesticides used against thecrawling insects. As they are on opposite sides of the interior, thepesticide acts with the crawling insect that is not caught by the stickysubstance.

According to additional aspects of the invention, the insect station 10of the invention may be a molded plastic housing. The housing caninclude a first side and a second side. A thin side wall on the firstside acts as a hinge and a snap or other securing means secured at thesecond side allows for the interior to be accessed as desired. Thisallows the user to check to see how many insects have been captured andto monitor for insect activity. The material used to form the housingmay be translucent to allow for visual inspection, if desired. While thestation has been described as being made from a molded plastic, it canalso be formed from any structurally rigid material such as steel,aluminum, cardstock, wood, or other material. Preferably, the housing isthe size of a deck of cards or half a deck of cards.

An additional aspect of the invention is the provision of an easilyremovable and replaceable station 10. Preferably, a bottom member of thehousing is removably secured to the wall or desired surface. Forexample, the bottom member may be slidably received in a second basemember that is secured to the wall. The second base member may bescrewed, glued or otherwise secured to the wall to keep it in place bothduring use and when the remainder of the station 10 is removed forservice or replacement. In this manner, an attractant or other portionsof the station 10 can be replaced without needing to replace theentirety of the housing 10. Alternatively, the pesticide or stickysurface may be placed on one or more removably secured chemistry panels.The removably secured chemistry panel may be slidably removable orsecured by removable tape, hook and loops, or other means to theinterior of the station 10. This allows a user to replace only thedesired portion of the station 10.

Still further, it should be appreciated that the insect station 10 ofthe invention can be used in conjunction with other monitoring systems,such as electronic, remote monitoring systems. The station 10 couldinterface with such an electronic monitor such that it would reduce orotherwise mitigate false positive signals of the electronic monitors andwould maximize signals related to crawling pests. For example, thestation 10 could protect or otherwise be positioned in the vicinity ofan electronic sensing device, such as those disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 12/414,155, 10/400,952, and 10/400,951, which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The sensing devicegenerally senses the presence of crawling insects that may interact withthe insect station 10 of the invention. This includes any insects thatmay be within the vicinity of the station. The station 10 of theinvention could serve as a physical filter to reduce false positivesignals from the sensing device and maximize signals related to thecrawling pests in the vicinity. This could be done by the use of acamera sensing the station 10 such that a user can view the number ofinsects crawling in, on, or around the station 10. Other electronics,such as optical sensors, ultrasonic sensors, proximity sensors, and thelike, could be used in conjunction with the station 10 to aid indetermining a number of insects in an area, such as that in or aroundthe area of the insect station 10.

Furthermore, a sensor could be operatively connected to the insectstation 10 to provide an alert to the electronic sensing system toindicate that an insect has crawled in the area covered by the insectstation 10. The alerts would indicate to a user that there is insectactivity in or around the insect station such that the user could knowto check the insect station for the amount of insects caught.

The combined use and interfacing of the insect station 10 and anelectronic sensing system would provide yet another layer of alert,monitoring, and/or data for a user to indicate if there is a problemwith insects that may need to be addressed in another manner. Therefore,it is to be appreciated that the combination and/or interfacing of theinsect station 10 can be done with generally type of monitoring systemused or considered for monitoring the number of crawling insects.

EXAMPLES

Embodiments of the present invention are further defined in thefollowing non-limiting Examples. It should be understood that theseExamples, while indicating certain embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only. From the above discussion and theseExamples, one skilled in the art can ascertain the essentialcharacteristics of this invention, and without departing from the spiritand scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of theembodiments of the invention to adapt it to various usages andconditions. Thus, various modifications of the embodiments of theinvention, in addition to those shown and described herein, will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description.Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of theclaims.

The materials used in the following Examples are provided herein:

-   -   Insect Grease (50/50 Petrolatum and Mineral Oil)    -   Carbon Dioxide

Laboratory strains of adult German Cockroaches (Blattella germanica),approximately 7 weeks old as well as German cockroach nymphsapproximately 3 weeks old were reared on Rodent Chow in temperatureranges of 78-82° F., and approximately 30-40% relative humidity.Conditions of a 12 hour light: 12 hour dark cycle were used unlessotherwise noted.

Example 1

For each replicate to be tested, a large food tote was prepared by firstgreasing the middle of the food tote with a thin layer of insect greaseand then placing a piece of rodent chow, cardboard harborage andmoistened water wick in the food tote. Carbon dioxide was then used toanesthetize tubs of German cockroaches of the appropriate ages. Thenumber of cockroaches per tote was determined so that for each testbait, there are three totes of 20 adult male cockroaches, 30 gravidfemale cockroaches, and 50 cockroach nymphs. The cockroaches wereallowed a minimum of 24 hours to recover from the effects of the carbondioxide prior to testing.

To determine the number of interactions between the cockroaches and thetrap, three monitors were videotaped and the first sixty interactionswith each trap were counted. The three monitors were a commerciallyavailable trap comprising a generic tented paper cockroach monitor witha glue board on the floor of the tent (Monitor A), a commerciallyavailable cockroach monitor comprising a round plastic cockroach withramps leading to a glue board and including an attractant tablet placedon the glue board (Monitor B), and a monitor exemplary of the disclosure(Disclosure Monitor). Monitor B also include a top that conceals fromview cockroaches that are caught on the glue board. FIG. 10 representsthe number of cockroaches caught during the first 60 interactions. Asshown, the Disclosure Monitor achieved a significantly higher percentageof interactions resulting in a catch. Monitor A did not catch anythingand Monitor B caught less than 5%, whereas the Disclosure Monitor caughtnearly 20%.

Example 2

The previously described test preparation of Example 1 was modified byincluding a 1 inch panel with a pesticide formulation. In this test, aliquid residual known for being repellant to insects, a liquid residualknown for not being repellant to insects, and dust formulation of apesticide were placed in the colony testing containers. The embodimentof the present invention (the Disclosure Monitor) contained a glueboard, an attractant tablet, and a treatment of non-repellent pesticide.FIG. 11 shows data collected from the colony after 1 week. As FIG. 11shows, the present invention achieved a 99% mortality after one week ofinteraction. This was substantially better than the control pesticides.The residual non-repellant had the second highest mortality rate, whichwas only 30%.

Example 3

Using a modified test procedure from Example 2, the different componentsof the invention were test separately. A 1 inch panel was used for thetreatment of pesticide. The prototype contained a glue board, anattractant tablet and a treatment of a non-repellant pesticide. FIG. 12shows that present invention (the Disclosure Monitor) achieved a 99%mortality after one week of interaction. Again, the exemplary apparatusand pesticide of the invention significantly outperformed the controls.The second highest mortality rate was the residual with an attractanttablet and that achieved less than 60% mortality.

While the crawling insect station 10 here and before described iseffectively adapted to fulfill the aforementioned objectives, it is tobe understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific preferred embodiments of the aspects disclosed and set forthabove. Rather, it is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalentsto the subject matter of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of detecting insects with a devicecomprising a base and a housing, the method comprising: positioning thebase in a location for insect detection; attaching an adhesive member tothe housing such that the adhesive is oriented towards an underside ofthe housing; connecting the housing to the base to allow insects to passunder the housing and adhesive; and removing the housing from the basefor review of the adhesive and number of insects attached thereto. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive is a glue board.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of attaching the adhesive comprisespositioned the adhesive directly on the underside of the housing.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising connecting the base to thelocation with an adhesive.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thelocation comprises a floor, a ceiling, a vertical wall, or othernon-horizontal surface.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the housingcomprises a substantially flat member.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe housing is positioned from substantially ⅛ inches to substantially ½inches away from a surface of the location for detecting insects.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the housing is positioned approximately ¼inches from the surface of the location for detecting insects.
 9. Asystem for detecting insects at a location including a surface,comprising: a base positioned at the surface; a housing attached to thebase, said housing including an adhesive member oriented towards anunderside of the housing; and wherein the underside of the housing ispositioned from substantially ⅛ inches to substantially ½ inches awayfrom a surface of the location for detecting insects.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the adhesive member is a glue board.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the glue board is positioned on the underside of thehousing.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the base is attached to thesurface.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the base is attached to thesurface with an adhesive.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein the housingis substantially flat.
 15. The system of claim 9, wherein the adhesivemember is attached to the housing such that it remains with the housingwhen the housing is removed from the base.
 16. The system of claim 9,wherein the housing and adhesive member are used to monitor a level ofinsect infestation at the location including the surface.
 17. A devicefor detecting and monitoring insects at a location including a surface,the device comprising: a base including an adhesive for attaching thebase to the surface at the location; a housing detachably attached tothe base, the housing including a substantially flat surface and anadhesive member positioned at an underside with the adhesive memberoriented towards the surface and away from the flat surface of thehousing; wherein the adhesive member is configured to adhere one or moreinsects to detect insects at the location and monitor for an insectinfestation.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the adhesive member atthe underside of the housing comprises a glue board, sprays, gels,liquids, glues, or solid member.
 19. The device of claim 17, wherein thehousing is positioned from substantially ⅛ inches to substantially ½inches away from a surface of the location for detecting insects. 20.The device of claim 17, wherein the base is positioned at leastpartially between the housing and the surface of the location fordetecting insects.